CPDM reorganisation decree haunts militants, journalists

The July 27, 2015 decision, signed by the National Chairman of the Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement, CPDM, Paul Biya, sanctioning the reorganisation of the basic organs of the party, has since, remained a headache for militants.

Since the publication of the decree, the issue of who is eligible to run for a section executive position remains the key area of confusion. The public, including the press, has been quick to conclude that Ministers and Managers of State-owned corporations may be barred from gunning for positions in the basic organs.

The confusion has been compounded the apprehension press fueling the misunderstanding by grassroots militants. Another point of confusion remains the eligibility of Mayors, Members of Assembly and Senators.

Militants, who are Section Presidents, have refused to understand the grammar used in the eligibility of Section President in the Biya circular. The interpretation that is splitting hairs among militants and the press is the issue of domicile and exceptions.

Paragraph 1, of the eligibility criteria in Biya’s circular reads; “Candidates for the various duty posts within the basic organs of the party must meet the requirement of domicile, militancy, commitment, efficiency, competence, morality, patriotism, experience, seniority, civic responsibility and discipline as defined under the basic texts.”

Alluding to this paragraph, the general interpretation has been that Ministers and General Managers of State corporations, who are not resident in their areas of origin, may be blocked from seeking election into the basic organs.

Yet there are those who are using the example of the last municipal elections to interpret the domicile criterion as referring to having a physical building or owning some property in a particular area.

In the same paragraph, the multiplicity of adjectives used to qualify who should run for the duty post has made those who have never held such positions to be nursing ambitions. It is obvious that at the basic level, there are militants who have remained committed financially, but have never made known their intentions.

Thus defining the terms seniority, civic responsibility, competence and others stated in the circular, within the context of the reoganisation exercise, may be another issue of discord.

Confusion At The Level Of Section President

The circular further reads: “A candidate for the position of Section President must have previously held the position of member of a section executive or of President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer of a Sub-Section of the party, with the exceptions of Members of the Central Committee, Members of the WCPDM National Executive, Parliamentarians and Mayors.”

The confusion in this third paragraph remains the misunderstanding of the phrase; “with the exception of members of the Central Committee, Members of the WCPDM National Executive, Parliamentarians and Mayors.”

Some members of the public, including media houses, have interpreted it to mean that persons listed in this category of Central Committee, Parliamentarians and Mayors, are not eligible for elections.

Traditional Rulers To Spring Surprises

In paragraph 4 of Biya’s circular, Second Class and First Class traditional rulers, who are considered ex-officio members of the party, are limited by the phrase “may not run”. This implies that if a traditional ruler within this rank decides to gun for a Section President, he may raise arguments based on this conditional statement “may not run.”

It reads inter alia “as ex-officio members of the executives of basic organs, militants of the party who are First Class and Second Class traditional rulers may not run for any position whatsoever”.

Till now, there are others who have crossed their fingers waiting for a text of application to clear their doubts on what they termed an ambiguous decree.